Resource to share:It is getting easier to volunteer in Hong Kong. You can now go to www.ho-sum.org and find one-time or on-going volunteer opportunities. To participate, you have to become a volunteer member first. All projects posted on the website are held by government registered charities, so volunteers will not be "abused" by commercial companies. Have fun volunteering! Read entry

WAY invites interested volunteers (in the age between 25 - 30) to join the programme. The key functions of the Volunteers Programme would be to assist and support WAY programmes internationally, and to be able to join international relief and emergency programmes coordinated by WAY. Read entry

Current promotions of volunteerism, whether in rich or poor countries, are focused primarily on government-endorsed activities: the state or large corporations, through their sponsorship of such campaigns, encourage people to work without pay to address community and social needs, the gain being a better community, improved self-esteem for the volunteer, and less money needed to pay for such action, as volunteers aren't paid.

It's an appallingly limited view of what volunteering is and its true importance and power, and it's no wonder that the unemployed and the disenfranchised scoff at such campaigns.